WAGSTAFF
The surname Wagstaff is an English family name that originated in the British Isles and is recorded as having an early medieval origin.
The name derives from the Old English words wag, meaning “to sway or wag”, and staff, meaning “a staff or stick”. It is believed to have originally been a nickname for a person who carried a staff that swayed or was waved while he walked, a trait that later became hereditary under the surname Wagstaff.
In the Middle English period the nickname was associated with officers of the law such as bailiffs, catchpolls or beadles, who carried a staff or rod that they would shake or brandish. The medieval writer Coverdale recorded a passage in which a king is warned that “he shall wagg his staff at thee”. The earliest recorded spelling of a person bearing the name is that of William Waggestaf, dated 1219 in the Curia Regis Rolls of Leicestershire during the reign of King Henry the First of the House of Anjou.
Variations of the spelling include Wagstaffe, Waggstaff, and Waggstaffe. The name is chiefly found in the English Midlands and Yorkshire, where a record of the marriage of Thomas Wagstaff and Elizabeth Slater in Ecclesfield, Yorkshire, is dated 21 May 1565.
The Wagstaff family was granted a coat of arms consisting of a silver shield bearing two black bends raguly. The crest features a black staff couped and raguly erect set above a gold ducal coronet.
In modern times the surname Wagstaff can be found throughout the world, especially in English‑speaking countries. In the United States it is most common in the West and Midwest, with significant concentrations in California, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma and Illinois. The name also occurs in Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Scotland, Ireland and various parts of South America.
Other variants used in genealogical records include Waegstaff, Waigstaff, Wagestoff, Wigstaff and Wageoff. Related surnames that share the same root include Wigham, Whitsun, Whitson, Whistow and Whicher, all of which are derived from the same Old English elements that produced Wagstaff.
The surname remains a distinct English patronymic name, and while individuals bearing it have contributed to fields such as academia, the arts, sports and public service, the name itself continues to be inherited without any particular personal association tied to the original nickname.
Typical given names associated with the Wagstaff surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Caroline
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Janet
- Julie
- Karen
- Margaret
- Rachel
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Wagstaff in...
Braille
⠺⠁⠛⠎⠞⠁⠋⠋
Morse
.--.---....-.-..-...-.
Semaphore
There are approximately 6,733 people named Wagstaff in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,397th most common surname in Britain. Around 103 in a million people in Britain are named Wagstaff.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Wagstaff
- Scott Wagstaff - Football player
- Julian Wagstaff - Scottish composer
- Ken Wagstaff - Football player
- Elsie Wagstaff - Actress (1899 to 1985)
- Lee Wagstaff - Tattoo artist
- Stuart Wagstaff - -born Australian entertainer (1925 to 2015)
- Barry Wagstaff - Football player
- Hugh Wagstaff - Cricketer (1895 to 1970)
- Cyril Wagstaff - Army general (1878 to 1934)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.